


A Close Call

by Puregold



Category: Neo Yokio
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, Demons, Hospitals, Injury, Injury Recovery, M/M, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Self-Blame, The violence isnt super graphic but be warned, also there's threats made and talk of some dark shit but its not that bad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-08 03:51:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17379050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puregold/pseuds/Puregold
Summary: Arcangelo recently took a trip to Italy, and when he got back provided Kaz with an expensive gift in the form of a vase. Little did he know, said vase was possessed, and managed to slip its way right into the home of Neo Yokio's most prestigious exorcist.





	A Close Call

It was the dead of night, and I was asleep in the arms of Arcangelo, my former arch-nemesis and current boyfriend. He had just returned from a trip, and we ecstatically spent the night together in my apartment, him having missed me so. In the midst of my slumber, I was dreaming peacefully, when suddenly my dream warped, becoming twisted and menacing as every nerve in my body screamed for me to wake. I promptly shot up, sitting up straight and trying to re-gain my bearings. I could've _swore_ I saw a glint of metal as I woke, but perhaps I imagined it due to the sudden wake-up.

I take a deep breath. Nothing seems out-of-order, but I always trust my gut about things like this. Something in me is screaming that something's amiss, and when you're a demon hunter, you can't afford to take these feelings lightly. So I gently removed my covers, standing as I left Arcangelo to slumber peacefully whilst I entered the living room. At first glance, nothing seems amiss. Still, better to be safe than sorry, I think, as I carefully move around the room, peering around corners and checking objects for any kind of demonic or otherwise foul presence.

That's when I see it. Out of the corner of my eye, I see that same glint of metal from before, and am able to swiftly dodge out of the way before being struck with a kitchen knife. A rather high-pitched, gender less voice with a strange warble chuckles, then begins to speak. "Well played, Mr. Kaan."

"Who are you? How did you get here?" I ask, turning around to face a pitch-black, yet rather small force of energy hovering in the center of the room.

"I'm no one important, yet." It replies. "But when I become the demon to take down Neo Yokio's #1 demon slayer? Talk of me will no doubt spread."

"Oh, we'll see about that." I say, before hurling a beam of lightning-blue energy from my outstretched palm at it.

It dodges in the blink of an eye, once again out of my view. Fuck, demons thrive in the darkness, of course this little shit waited till night to strike. Not only that, but it would have to, seeing how small this demon's aura is. The smaller a demon is the easier it is to kill, however, the faster it moves and harder it is to see.

"Yes, we will see." It replies, rustling some stray papers left on the coffee table. "I am going to take pleasure in slicing into your paper-skin flesh, then doing the same to your little boyfriend."

Its threat of violence towards Arcangelo pisses me off, and I let off a few warning blasts around various places in the apartment, as the demon is still hiding from my view. "You keep his fucking name out of your mouth." I shout.

On the other side of the room, the door creaks open, and Arcangelo peaks through. "Babe? What's going on? I heard some ruckus and-" He is cut off by a demonic blast of purple lightning shot into the wall where he was standing as he ducks back behind the door.

"You leave him out of this!" I shout, diving towards the door and holding it shut, preventing the demon from accessing the bedroom as I stand my ground. "And show yourself, coward!"

"As you wish." It says, before I see a glint of metal and watch it graze across my shoulder as I side-step out of the way.

All I see are streaks of black energy as well as the glint of a metallic knife as the demon darts around me, attempting to slice and strike at me from several angles. It only succeeds a few times, managing to leave me with paper-cuts at best before I gain my bearings. Once grounded, I focus on one specific spot beside me, arm outstretched. The second the demon is in that place, I blast it with a powerful beam of light, and its aura explodes, signaling its defeat.

"Hah!" I exclaim, proud of my success. Then, my knees buckle out from under me and I sink to the floor. What the fuck...?

I peer down at my chest and notice a pool of blood rapidly forming underneath my shirt. I panic and frantically cast my shirt aside to reveal a large gash spanning the length of my torso. I feel my head get dizzy as I fall against the coffee table, leaning on it and panting desperately as I struggle to remain conscious. Fuck. That damn demon must've gone in for a killing blow at the same time I blasted it into oblivion.

Arcangelo opens the door again. "Kaz...?" His voice sounds distant and heavy to me. "Oh, God, Kaz!" He shouts, rushing to my side and holding me against him. "Charles, Charles quick! Get- get gauze and we're taking Kaz to the- the fucking hospital!"

I lean against Arcangelo's chest, knowing I'm getting blood all over his new linen bathrobes, and I weakly chuckle to myself despite the fiery pain shooting through me. "Arn't chu gunna ge mad a' me?" I ask, slurring terribly.

"No, no Kaz I don't care I'm not-" He stutters, his voice clearly panicked as his hands and body shake. "Fuck, please- please just stay awake Kaz I know it's hard- just please keep your eyes open. Please."

Staying awake feels like the last thing I wanna do right now, but I love Arcangelo so much and he's clearly losing his shit so I muster through the pain, blinking rapidly as I struggle to stay awake and alive. I can faintly hear Charles bumbling around for medical supplies in the background as Arcangelo continues blabbering at me. Everything sounds like it's fuzzy and underwater at the same time, and before I know it, Charles has lifted me from Arcangelo's warm body into his cold metallic arms and wrapped enough gauze around my chest to stuff a teddy bear. Arcangelo holds my hand in his, squeezing it, as he repeats the same things to me in a panicked frenzie.

"Kaz, Kaz oh my god stay with me. Kaz, Kaz I love you so much, fuck, please? Please, it's okay, I've got you, just stay awake and keep talking to me? If you can't talk just make noises- something, I don't care, to let me know you're still fucking alive, fuck, please-" He begs, and he's choked up and blubbering through tears. "I love you baby I fuckin' love you, we're gonna get through this I promise just please, please stay with me, please."

I can barely even register when we've made it to the roof. Arcangelo has climbed onto Charles' back as Charles carries me, and we fly to the hospital. I distantly note, through my foggy mind state, how uncharacteristic it is of Charles to be utterly silent during all this chaos. I'm assuming it has something to do with Sadie. Either she's cursing up enough of a storm in a panic that Charles' can't even begin to censor her, or she's so focused in on the task at hand that she can't even begin to speak.

All I see are bright lights, and a dozen people talking over each other, the beeping of a heart monitor and other similar sounds, and then I'm out cold.

The next... Morning? Afternoon? I awaken, and blearily peer around the room to observe that I'm in a hospital room, in a bed- not unlike Helena- when I see Arcangelo curled up on a cot next to me, soundly asleep. I decide to take this opportunity to reminisce. Fuck, where am I? What happened? Why the fuck am I in the hospital? I take a deep breath, which I suddenly realize is through a breathing mask. There was... I remember waking up at night, and... That's right, I fought a demon. Then there was... Blood? Lots of blood. For some reason there was lots of blood and pain and I don't remember the rest. Okay, well, at least now I _sort of_ know what happened. I look down, and see that there's an IV stuck in my arm. Ick. Other than that, I'm wearing a hospital gown, and I can't really feel most of my body. I assume that's because I'm drugged out on pain meds. Annoyed at the presence of the breathing tube, when I'm sure I can breathe _just fine_ , I lift my functioning arm up and pull off the mask, taking in a deep breath of fresh air.

I then reach down, and pull my gown down in a way that I can see my injury and further piece together what happened to me. My eyes go wide in shock and I suck in a sharp breath as I see a long, jagged, diagonal stitching spanning the length of my upper left bicep down to my lower right abdomen. I grimace at the sight and throw myself into a coughing fit, which rouses Arcangelo beside me.

"Mmm..." He starts, sleepy. "Kaz? Kaz, what the fuck are you doing, stop messing with shit." He nags, standing to pull my hospital gown back up and pull the breathing mask down over my face. "The doctors... Did that shit for a reason- you... Need to rest, you were hurt really... Really bad." He says, looking away and getting quiet towards the end of his sentence. He then takes a deep breath. "Well, guess I'll tell Agatha you're awake, she's been waiting."

When my coughing fit is over, I sigh and roll my eyes. I can breathe just fine and honestly? I don't know if I want Aunt Agatha nagging at me right now. When he leaves the room to go fetch my aunt, I once again lift and remove the breathing mask as I wait for her to come in.

The moment Agatha steps in the room, her voice commands attention. "What the fuck are you doing? Keep that mask on if you're supposed to have it on." She chides, crossing over to the side of my bed.

"With all due respect, Aunt Agatha," I begin, my voice sounding hoarse and dry. "I'd rather be able to reply and speak when spoken to."

Agatha crinkles up her nose at me. "Jesus, you sound like dog shit." She then turns towards the door and hollers. "Can we get a glass of water in here, please?" before turning back and grumbling. "Jesus, I swear, these bimbos are just payed to sit there and look pretty. Anyway- how are you feeling?" She asks, and I'm shocked at the question.

"Uh... I dunno? Confused, mostly. My body feels... Pretty numb, on account of all the pain meds or whatever." I reply, finding and pressing the button that allows the hospital bed to lift into a more seated position.

Aunt Agatha retrieves the remote from me, before pressing it back down into a laying position. "No, you need to lay down and rest. That injury is all across your chest- you wouldn't want to irritate it by moving around and trying to sit up and shit." She sighs irritably. "I already chewed out your stupid boyfriend for bringing something across the border without having it checked at customs. Seriously, what the hell was he thinking? You could've been killed."

"Please don't blame him, Auntie, he meant no harm. It was really a rather thoughtful and lovely gift." A nurse comes by, providing me with a glass of water, then promptly leaves. "I'm sure he's already shaken up enough as is."

"As he should be. Did you hear me, Kaz? You could have died. Had you been brought to the hospital a second later you not only would've lost too much blood, but your internal organs would be wrecked, too. That demon cut deep enough to hit your lungs, you know? Blood was filling up _inside your lungs_ , Kaz."

That graphic talk of my organs makes me feel sick to my stomach and causes me to shiver before giving out a weak cough. "I- Can we not... Discuss this in any more detail, please? It's making me feel rather ill."

"Fine, but I'm making you put that damn mask back on." She commands, before while remaining true to her word and wrangling the mask back over my face. She then pauses, hesitates, and gives me a weak, gentle hug, I'm assuming to avoid further injury. "Take it easy."

She then pulls away and leaves as if the exchange never happened, which counts as Arcangelo's que to come right back in. "Hey, babe. Miss me?" He asks through a layer of thinly-veiled confidence, masking a face full of anxiety and misery.

I beckon Arcangelo over, and he sits beside me on the cot as I reach out my hand and hold his in mine, giving it a squeeze. He smiles faintly, before softly adding. "Shouldn't I be doing that to you?"

I half-shrug, before pulling the mask off my mouth slightly to allow me to speak. "Eh, fuck it. I know you're upset, you've probably seen some... Pretty nasty shit, from what Aunt Agatha told me."

His expression looks pained at the mention of her name, and I continue with reassurance. "Don't let her get to you; she's just worried and protective, is all. It wasn't your fault, okay? It _wasn't_."

Arcangelo shakes his head. "But it... _was_. I don't know why I didn't- fucking get my things searched at customs, I should've been more careful, and it- it could've been so much worse." He says, looking down and squeezing my hand as he starts to choke up.

"It's _not_ your fault. Not your fault. I could've double-checked too, y'know? You were in just as much danger as me. You weren't being malicious or anything, okay?"

Arcangelo sniffles, wipes his eyes, then lifts his head to look at me as he shoots me a fake smile. "Okay."

I know he still doesn't believe me, but I don't want to press him any further. Besides, I'm _exhausted_ , so I resolve to resume this conversation later as I clock out once again.

**Author's Note:**

> I mainly just hope my characterization of aunt agatha was alright?? Because, like, she's obviously very strict but OBVIOUSLY loves her nephew and would be seriously concerned if he had a near-death experience. I mean, she got pretty pissed at the Remembrancer for messing with Kaz so it... Makes sense.
> 
> Also I hope my characterization of Kaz was all right, cuz sometimes I think I might've made him too smart accidentally??? Like LMAO he's a dramatic emo dumbass lets not play ourselves.


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